Mindful of it. Prepared for it.

Coffee, Kids, Clothes, Lunch? Check!

The smell of freshly brewing coffee, the warm sun waking me with its fabulous morning greeting, refreshed and ready to attack the day…ahhhh… perfection; except that is exactly what did not happen! After hitting the snooze button a few times, I roll out of bed to wake the kids up for school and get ready for the day . I thought I had efficiently prepared them both for school the night before in attempts to alleviate the morning chaos – but apparently when dealing with hormonal teeenagers (and preteens) you never know what the morning will bring you!

My daughter can’t find her stuff, my son is sick and of course can’t find his shorts, and my husband needs lunch. Notice I didn’t mention anything about mom getting ready for work in that sentence! A lot of us have been here, I’m sure! In this moment I have a few choices. I can handle one thing at a time as quickly and efficiently as possible, (which would be the ideal choice at that moment), I can multitask and try to get it all done within the 15 minutes we have left before they miss the bus and everyone is late, or I can get overwhelmed and frustrated. Which did I choose? Of course! I got overwhelmed and frustrated. My frustration out leashed on my family. Did I feel better? In that moment, maybe. But minutes later – I did not. I felt horrible. That is not the way I want them or any of us to start the day. We needed a radical overhaul to our routine or I needed a radical overhaul to my outlook. Either way, I let the stress of that moment overwhelm me to that point.

These are issues women face daily and some are more organize minded than I am, but the fact that I try is good enough for me. With all that said – how could I have done what I wanted to do or knew I SHOULD do in that moment? What do you do to not get overwhelmed? I’ve heard breathing, take yourself out of the situation, etc. but none of those were options at that time. The only thing I come to is to be more prepared ahead of time in hopes that situation didn’t arise at all and to allow myself a little grace. Grace is something that should be the foundation of every relationship, including for myself. I could beat myself up for not being the best mom in that moment or not being that mom we all know who seems to have it all together, or I can take each mistake that I make and learn for next time, because I’m SURE there will be a next time.

When that next time comes, I will be more aware of myself, attitude, and options at hand and go forth on purpose. I will do my best to not let all those rushing demands of the morning to get to me. I choose to make the best of my (yes, rushed) mornings with my family and face the world with a positive outlook instead of regret from the morning’s interactions. Let’s go forward determined to make the best of those times together as busy as they are; they are still moments we all will miss and remember…eventually. How will you handle motherly chaos when it greets you next time?